1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article imparted with an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property, more preferably an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal article in which an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property is imparted to an article comprising a metallic material, for example, stainless steel or aluminum, etc., a glass material or a ceramic material, for example, pottery, which is often utilized in industry and at home, and a process for producing same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The processes for imparting an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property to an article formed from metal, glass and ceramic materials, etc. are divided broadly or two categories.
In one category, an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent is directly knead-mixed into a material. In this case, when a metal, glass or ceramic material is used, since the material is formed at a high forming temperature, an inorganic antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent containing a silver and copper-containing antibacterial agent is used.
The other category is a coating process in which a coating layer comprising an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent is formed on a surface of an article. For example, a coating liquid prepared by dispersing an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent together with a resin vehicle in a solvent is coated on the article, or a glaze containing a glaze component added with an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent is applied. In the former, both organic and inorganic antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agents can be used and, in the later case, an inorganic antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent is used.
However, the conventional process for imparting an antibacterial property, for example, a knead-mixing process, is disadvantageous in that since the forming temperature for the metal, glass and ceramic materials is high, when an inorganic antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent having a poor heat resistance is used, a satisfactory antibacterial property is difficult to exhibit and, even when a satisfactory antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property is attained, a portion of the antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent is distributed even in the deep inside portion of the article and does not impart an effective action to the bacteria cohered to the surface of the art, and thus an economical disadvantage occurs. (Refer to FIG. 1)
Also, the conventional coating method does not have the economical disadvantage of the knead-mixing method, because a coating layer having an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property is newly formed on a surface of a previously formed article. However, this method is disadvantageous in that the binder (resin vehicle or glaze component) in the coating layer is worn by abrasion within a relatively short term; the surface properties (for example, color and physical properties) of the article are significantly changed by the formation of the coating layer, and when a glaze containing an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent added to a glaze component is coated and baked, the baking temperature is 800xc2x0 C. or more and thus the antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal properties are degraded. (Refer to FIG. 2)
The present invention was effected in consideration of the above-mentioned problems of the prior arts and an object of the present invention is to provide an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal article containing an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal agent concentratedly distributing in a surface portion of the article, of which article the antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal property is not exhausted within a short term by abrasion, etc., and is not degraded by heat-treatment and, on the surface properties of which article, a significant change due to the formation of a coating layer does not occur, and a process for producing the same.
The object of the present invention can be attained by an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal article of the present invention which is characterized in that an antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal component has been diffused from a surface of the article into the inside of the surface portion of the article.
In the antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal article of the present invention, the antibacterial, antifungal or antialgal component preferably comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of silver, copper, silver-copper alloys, organic silver compounds, organic copper compounds, silver chloride, silver sulfide, silver oxide, silver sulfate, cuprous chloride and cupric chloride and cuprous sulfide.